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DMC 1450 WT new to me

BearGap

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I got a call from the sheet metal shop 2 weeks ago with bad and good news. The distributor called them and said my order was mixed up. I got cold rolled 1/8" and someone else got a great deal on some 4130. The metal shop asked me if 12 gauge was ok because .125" 4130 was 3 to 4 weeks out. I said sure and cut the legs down from 2" to 1.5" to save $300 more. They are 2/3 the weight of the previous 2" channel I had made. Much better I think and I'm glad I got a do over....except for the 6 weekends of drilling and shaping for nothing.
 

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BearGap

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Final configuration for my new grousers. 12 gauge 4130 channel, full width for my WT. I made 32 with end plates, 16 each side so I'll have 8 facing in and out. Getting heat treated next week and then dip painting before assembly.
 

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BearGap

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Got my parts ready to build my tracks and I'm back to 50-60 hours a week until probably March. Here's my shop. We're putting in a new 777 moving line.
 

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BearGap

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I haven’t been able to work on my 1450 this winter at all. I fell in January and tore both quad tendons. Walking again now just fine and burning through 6 weeks of PT. Maybe back to work early June. Worst part was 5 weeks horizontal. Saw the great conversation on the 1450 in GA, what a beauty.
Now that I’ve replaced everything that goes around on my undercarriage, I look at the tracks and undercarriage on these gorgeous low hour machines with some skepticism. The engine may have 400 hours but the rest of the machine has been sitting for 38 years or 332,000 hours. A State vehicle would probably fair better but who knows.
As all the old timers here know, the tracks on the 1450 are a cobbled together mess. Heavy track belts from Sprytes and light duty grousers from Imps are what you get. Impossible bolt access sucks. The wheel guides are nice, much beefier than Imps’, but try and find any on the planet. I’m using a few Imp wheel guides on mine as it will not have to work very hard.
I removed about 350 lbs of winch junk from my front end. I’m sure the seasoned 1450ers know you’re not going to push much snow around and the extra 500-1000 lbs with a blade is just more work for the 104 hp six.
If you want a nimble light duty machine that can carry a ton the 1450 can’t be beat, especially when you figure in the grin factor. Just know that you might have a $5k to $10k track rebuild waiting no matter how shiny it is...:wink:

Here’s a picture of my new knees V2.0.
 

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redsqwrl

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So!

I may or may not be rebuilding some 1450 tracks....

I may or may not need some backing plates.

did you make you own or reuse yours. because No where on the planet is disheartening. I thought only snow trac parts were rare?

9.5 inch belts and their corresponding backing plates turned out to be a surprise. you put very accurate words to the situation.
 

BearGap

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GOLD Site Supporter
Backing plates are easy. It’s just 1/8” x 1” strap, very cheap at the steel yard.
I love it when the add says the belts are in great shape. Of course they are, they’re 5-ply Sprite belts. They’ll outlast the 1450 fasteners by a decade or two.
I’ve been told my model of 1450 with all 3 hydraulic options were built for the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics as light duty utility groomers and trail setters. Mine ended up at a TV station in Ogden where it was used as a summer 4x4. I hope it had some fun first.
On another topic, I recently talked to the DNR manager for NE WA State in Colville. I finally got around to gingerly asking about snowcat access on the green-dot road system. He said there are no green dot roads in the NE WA District and that as long as I stayed off groomed snowmobile trails he had no concerns about snowcat use on his roads. It’s a 6 hour drive from here but that’s great news! :thumbup:
 

Blackfoot Tucker

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GOLD Site Supporter
I haven’t been able to work on my 1450 this winter at all. I fell in January and tore both quad tendons. Walking again now just fine and burning through 6 weeks of PT. Maybe back to work early June. Worst part was 5 weeks horizontal. Saw the great conversation on the 1450 in GA, what a beauty.
Now that I’ve replaced everything that goes around on my undercarriage, I look at the tracks and undercarriage on these gorgeous low hour machines with some skepticism. The engine may have 400 hours but the rest of the machine has been sitting for 38 years or 332,000 hours. A State vehicle would probably fair better but who knows.
As all the old timers here know, the tracks on the 1450 are a cobbled together mess. Heavy track belts from Sprytes and light duty grousers from Imps are what you get. Impossible bolt access sucks. The wheel guides are nice, much beefier than Imps’, but try and find any on the planet. I’m using a few Imp wheel guides on mine as it will not have to work very hard.
I removed about 350 lbs of winch junk from my front end. I’m sure the seasoned 1450ers know you’re not going to push much snow around and the extra 500-1000 lbs with a blade is just more work for the 104 hp six.
If you want a nimble light duty machine that can carry a ton the 1450 can’t be beat, especially when you figure in the grin factor. Just know that you might have a $5k to $10k track rebuild waiting no matter how shiny it is...:wink:

Here’s a picture of my new knees V2.0.

Boy, that doesn't look like fun...

My wife had knee replacement surgery last April, and eight months later had to have "revision surgery" during which the original "press fit" prosthesis was removed and a "cemented in" style was installed. Thankfully, she's now (finally) doing well.

BTW, back in 1997 I got a tour of the Widebody Assembly Plant in Everett. The tour was setup with my employer and our guide was not the standard cheerleader type, but an aeronautical engineer. Absolutely fascinating and he was great in answering questions, and not "pulling punches".

I sure liked the Boeing of old (before the merger with McDonnell Douglas). That company built some really great airplanes that revolutionized air travel. Now...not so much. It seems the philosophy of yet another 737 redesign to make SWA happy is costing Boeing hugely; in dollars and in reputation....
 

BearGap

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The CEOs for the past 15 years were the 2 guys who ran GE into the ground. All we’ve heard was that the only thing that matters is Shareholder Value. Now we push planes out the door as fast as possible and let the market determine the price. Sounds an awful lot like Detroit in the fifties.
The only reason I don’t worry about flying is I know the people who get dirty building them. They care about doing things right. With no more airplane people on the board in Chicago it makes me wonder who in the hell Im working for...
 

BearGap

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GOLD Site Supporter
Greetings!
I’ve had to take a year off with my injuries and am doing pretty well. I had 3 months PT and then 9 months in the gym with a trainer 2x week. It’s been a long haul. I’m riding my bike now and doing most things just fine.
I finished getting my grousers ready and powder coated, and got them bolted up to the wheel guides. I’ve got new belting, backing plates and grade 8 hardware from Fastenall. I’m replacing 1 master cylinder and then I think I’m ready to assemble the tracks in the next couple of weekends. I had the belly pan off and changed fluids and didn’t find any leaks or frame damage.
Dan
 

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turbinator62

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Those are some fine looking grousers. Glad to hear you are vertical again. That sounds like a long recovery. I had a new hip 4 years ago and was mobile in a couple months.
I spent a week in the hospital with pneumonia last month and with the lack of snow at our cabin I have not had the cat out of the container. Getting old sucks.
You should be able to get it done this year and hope for better snow next winter to try it out.
 

BearGap

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I was off work 6 months. Went back - still pretty weak - and worked 5 more months on the new 777 moving line before retiring Dec 31. Stayed in the gym non-stop and am doing lots better for sure.
Not sure if I can get my new pretty grousers dirty. :smile: I was hoping for some late snow in the Collockum for a test run. Sorry to hear about the low snow pack at the cabin. Please let me know if you came up with anything to keep in mind when you put your tracks back on.
Thanks, Dan
 

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turbinator62

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I was off work 6 months. Went back - still pretty weak - and worked 5 more months on the new 777 moving line before retiring Dec 31. Stayed in the gym non-stop and am doing lots better for sure.
Not sure if I can get my new pretty grousers dirty. :smile: I was hoping for some late snow in the Collockum for a test run. Sorry to hear about the low snow pack at the cabin. Please let me know if you came up with anything to keep in mind when you put your tracks back on.
Thanks, Dan

I doubt the Collockum has much snow either. It is east of our cabin. I've been over Collockum pass several times in the summer to Wenatchee. Its a rough road. In the late 1800's it was the only road from Ellensburg to Wenatchee.

Did you get track jacks with your cat. If not there are several posts on the forum on how to make them. I didn't get any with mine. I just use a couple of 8" Harbor Freight C clamps which work ok on my small tracks.

I keep one of these little chain hoists in the cat for pulling tracks. It works well with a couple of nylon loop straps. (Like for motorcycle handlebars). Only 43 bucks at harbor Freight with a 20% coupon. Jim VT told me about them. It will fit in a small ammo can.
https://www.harborfreight.com/1-4-quarter-ton-lever-chain-hoist-67144.html?_br_psugg_q=chain+hoist

We need to get together some day. I live down the road in Silverdale.
 

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BearGap

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Hi PJL, hope you got out this winter. We definitely had some serious rescue weather early in the winter.
I bought the 4130 channel cut to length and did the rest of the work. They cost me about $35 each. I had a shop in Everett welded my end plates since I don’t have a TIG welder. 100 of 128 of the original grousers were terminally cracked so I had to go all in the get it fixed. I had them powder coated. A friend at work is an engineer on a team that runs a Donovan powered fuel altered roadster. He said just about all NHRA 4130 frames are powder coated, so that’s good enough for me.
The wheel guides are the big issue with this kind of track rebuild. I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir. I had to use a few Imp used and new guides that I got from Tim at Remote Access - he’s great. 1450 wheel guides bolt up the same as 1404s but the 1450 guides are way beefier. Impossible to find. Most 1450s have such crappy and rusty tracks that you can barely save the wheel guides when you cut/burn/grind them apart. That’s the real issue with the 1450 in my humble opinion.
I’ll let you folks know what weekend I’m planning to go, to see if any of you PS’ers want to trade skinned knuckles for some good BBQ.
Dan
 

PJL

Well-known member
I did one radio tower trip and several training runs this season. Had a few trips cancelled. I'm hoping to get out next week. But we will see. Still plenty of snow at the higher elevations.

The 1200 tracks are still in great shape. Haven't needed any work since we've owned it.
 

BearGap

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Rather than say some hillbilly welded right over the DMC badge, I’m telling everyone it’s an uber-rare DMC 145C.
 

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BearGap

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I did some rust control work on the front end the last couple of days. It’s still pretty ugly from the winch mount but it’s getting better for sure. :smile:
 

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PJL

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Yep, the C stood for comfort. Plush interior, heated seats. AC and Quadraphonic 8 track with Kraco speakers.



They were special ordered. Few left in the world. You are one very fortunate cat owner.
 

JimVT

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Yep, the C stood for comfort. Plush interior, heated seats. AC and Quadraphonic 8 track with Kraco speakers.



They were special ordered. Few left in the world. You are one very fortunate cat owner.

could the C stand for cocaine?
 

BearGap

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Well....it was 80’s for sure. John D definitely had some issues, but hey, the charges were dropped.
He had it made using the Chevy 2.8L V-6 for his new car. Until he wrote a scathing book about GM leadership and suddenly the only option was the boat anchor PRV engine from Europe. Oops
 

BearGap

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Well, here I go assembling my tracks. I can’t believe it but all my holes seem to be lining just fine :clap:
I plan on pulling on 10 or so at a time with the drive sprockets. This is a first for me so please let me know if you see anything goofy or just plain dumb.

Thanks!
 

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BearGap

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Everything is going pretty well. I’m finishing pulling on the left track using my Kubota with the cat in neutral. I have to move my jack stands around again before I proceed. Also, I found one I put in backwards so I have in front where I can turn it around :smileywac. This is my lead mechanic Joyce. She loves the cat! She teaches 3rd grade so I don’t get away with much. Starting to look more like Ski Dozer jr. :thumbup:
 

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BearGap

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Got one done today. No problems really, just had to feel my way through it. Figured out I had to set the cat down on the track to get rid of the slack and then it went pretty quick. I used the Jim Vermont method with a mini hoist and 2 beefy cargo straps - worked great!
 

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